Control apparatus



Feb. 12, v1952 J. HARRINGTON, JR

CONTROL APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. i4, 194? By Ms AttorneyFeb. 12, 1952 m o JR 2,585,120

CONTROL APPARATUS Filed Aug. 14, 1947 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Z 219. Z Vjnvrinfor:

Joseph fiarr/nyfol? Jr. By his Arm/"nay F 12, 1952 J. HARRINGTON, JR2,585,120

CONTROL AP1?ARATUS Filed Aug. l4, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 inventor: Joseob Harmngfon /n By his Afforng Patented Feb 12, 1952 NHD STATES OFFICE2,585,120 CONTROL APPARATUS Application August 14, 1947, Serial No.768,552

3 Claims. (01. 74-198) This invention relates to control apparatus andparticularly to apparatus for controlling the training movements of adevice such, for example, as a telescope, gun, Searchlight etc.

In the training of devices, such as those just mentioned, it is a commonpractice to provide a control handle which is adapted to be grasped bythe hands of an operator and moved by him to control the movements ofthe device in azimuth and in elevation. However, when the extent of suchtraining movements in azimuth or elevation becomes considerable and thenecessary displacement of the control handle correspondingly increased,it is extremely awkward for the operator to twist his hands and wristsfar enough to accomplish the desired movement of the device or, atleast, impossible for him accurately to control its'movements. This isparticularly true where the device is being trained to follow the pathof a moving aircraft which may require a complete rotation of the devicein azimuth and a very great angular movement thereof in elevation.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to' provide an improvedcontrol apparatus by means of which even the most extensive trainingmovements of a device may be controlled with the greatest of ease andaccuracy. To this end, the herein illustrated control apparatus isprovided with a control member which, regardless of its position, alwayspresents the same surface for engagement by the hands of the operator.More particularly, this control apparatus comprises a device mounted forswinging movement about ments of the device in elevation, while thespherical member is supported for universal rotation and in frictionalengagement with the aforementioned wheels. With this arrangement, thespherical member may be rotated by the operator in any direction inwhich it is desired to move the de-' vice and, inasmuch as thehorizontal and vertical components of the rotation of this member arepicked up by the two friction wheels, the movements of the devicev willthereby be determined. Also, as the extent of movement in any directionincreases, the operator merely reengages his hands with a diiferentportion of the surface of the spherical member, thus avoiding thenecessity for assuming an awkward position as well as the resultinginaccuracy of control.

The above, and other, objects and features of the invention will appearin the following detailed description of the embodiment illustrated inthe accompanying drawings, and will be pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of a control apparatus embodying thefeatures of this invention;

Fig. 2 is a View, in perspective and with oertain parts broken away, ofa portion of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a schematic view of the operating mechanism of the apparatus;and

Fig. 4 is a plan view, at a reduced scale, of

a portion of the apparatus.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawings, the device which is to becontrolled is illustrated as being a telescope 10, shown mounted on thetop of a hollow standard 12 which is supported on a fabricated frame [4.This frame comprises a top plate I8, carried by a plurality of columns20 which extend upwardly from a base 22. The

mechanism for operating the telescope, under the control of a sphericalmember I6, is contained within a box 24 which is secured to the topplate, directly beneath the standard I2, and includes two frictionwheels 26 and 28, the former being mounted for rotation in a horizontalplane and the latter for rotation in a vertical plane.

The spherical member I6 is supported for universal rotation on a ballbearing 30 which rides on a plurality of rollers 32, 32, carried by ablock 34, and this block is secured on the base 22.. A bracket 36extends rearwardly from the frame I4, above this spherical member l6,and isprovided with two plungers 38, 38, arranged to engage the surfaceof the spherical member, rearwardly of the ball bearing 30 and on theopposite sides of a diametrical plane passing through the ball bearing30 and between the friction wheels 26, 28, see Fig. 4. These plungersare backed up by coil springs 40, 40, the tension of which will bevaried by means of screws 42, 42. With the arrangement just described,the spherical member 16 is urged yieldingly, against the friction wheels26 and 28 while still being free for rotation in any direction. As willbe apaasamo parent, the vertical component of the rotation of thespherical member I6 will be transmitted to the roll 28, which rotates ina vertical plane, while the horizontal component thereof will betransmitted. to the roll 26 which rotates in a horizontal plane. Therotation of these friction wheels is imparted to the telescope I0 bymeans of mechanism about to be described.

Referring to Fig. 2 of the drawings, the telescope I0 is mounted in asleeve 50 which is provided with an arm 52, secured to one end of ashaft 54. This shaft is journaled in a bearing 56, formed in a bracket55 that extends upwardly from a disk 58 which is rotatably mounted onthe top of the hollow standard I2 by means of three rollers, one ofwhich is visible in Fig. 2 and indicated by the reference character 60.Secured to the other end of the shaft 54, is a spur gear 62 which is inmesh with a rack bar 64 that is slidably supported on a guide boss 36 onthe disk 58. A shaft 58 is fixed to the disk 58 and extends downwardly,through the hollow standard I2, and into the box 24. The rack bar 64likewise extends downwardly into the standard I 2 and, at its lower end,is connected, by means of a link ill, to a yoke I2 which is slidable onthe shaft 68, and splined thereto by means of a key I4. The yoke I2 hasan annular groove I6 in which the trunnion pin 18 of a block 80 rides.This block has two feet 82, 84, which bear against the inside wall ofthe hollow standard I2 and is secured to a second rack bar 86 thatextends downwardly into the box 24.

Rotation of the shaft 14 is transmitted directly to the telescope I0, soas to swing it in azimuth,

while the vertical movement of the rack bar 86.is transmitted, throughthe block 80, yoke 12, link I0, rack bar 64 and spur gear 62, to thetelescope, to move it in elevation. As will presently appear, thefriction wheel 26, which is rotated in accordance with the horizontalcomponent of rotation of the spherical member I6, is connected to theshaft 68; while the friction wheel 28, which is rotated in accordancewith the vertical component of rotation of the spherical member I6, isconnected to the rack bar 86. Thus the movements of the spherical memberI6 are imparted to the telescope III. The herein illustrated mechanismfor moving the telescope is adapted to provide a so-called aidedtracking control; that is to say, rotation of the spherical controlmember I6, in any given direction in elevation, azimuth, or acombination of both, and for a predetermined amount, will not onlyresult in angular movement of the telescope I0, in the same directionand to the same extent, but also will establish a rate of angularmovement of the telescope in that direction which is proportional to theinitial displacement of the spherical member.

Referring now to Fig. 3 of the drawings, and considering first themovement of the telescope in azimuth, which as already indicated iscontrolled by the rotation of the friction wheel 26, the shaft 58 isconnected to the output shaft I00 of a differential having two inputgears I82, I04 and a cage I05. The input gear I04 is rotated directly.by the friction wheel 26 through shafts I06, I07, I08 and gears H0, H2,H4, H6, H8 and I20. The input gear I02 is connected, by gears I22, I24and I26 and shaft I28, to the output cylinder I 34 of a variable speeddrive comprising a disk I32, balls I34 and ball carriage I36. This ballcarriage is adjustable, to displace the balls I34 relatively to thecenter of the disk I32, by means of apinion I38 carried by a shaft [40which is normally connected to the shaft I01 by means of a frictionclutch I42. The disk I32 is driven at a constant speed by a motor I44,

through gears I46, I48 and a shaft I50. 5 Assuming that the telescope isin a zero position in azimuth, as shown in Fig. 3, the balls I34 will bein the center of the disk I32 and the input gears I02 and I 04 will bestationary as will, of course, the cage I05 and the output shaft I00.Now, if the spherical member is rotated (1" degrees in azimuth thisrotation will be transmitted to the friction wheel 26 and the followingmovement of the telescope I0 will result. First, the arrangement of thegearin comprising gears I04, H0, H2, H4, H6, H8 and I20 is such that thetelescope will be moved a degrees in the same direction as the sphericalmember was displaced. This provides the space component of the "aidedtracking action.

However, the rotation of the friction Wheel 26 will also rotate theshaft M0 which, through the pinion I38, will effect a displacement ofthe balls I34 from the center of the disk I32. Therefore, the input gearI02 will now be rotated at a speed which is proportional to thedisplacement of the spherical member I6. The direction of rotation ofthe disk I32 and the arrangement of the gearing comprising gears I 22, I24 and I26 is such that the cage I05 and the output shaft I00 will berotated in the same direction as the spherical member I6. -Accordingly,the telescope III will continue to move in the direction in which thespherical member I6 was originally displaced and at a rate which isproportional to the amount of the displacement of the spherical member.This provides the "rate component of the aided tracking action,

Now, if it is desired to change the rate of movemerit of the telescope,the spherical member must be displaced in the proper direction, i. a,reversely' to slow down the rate and forwardly to increase it, it beingnoted that, in either case, the tele-- scope will be moved, reversely orforwardly, an angular distance equal to this displacement of thespherical member by the direct (space) control through input gear I04.In order to stop the movement of the telescope, the spherical membermust be displaced reversely until the balls I34 are restored to theiroriginal position in the cen-' ter of the disk I32. As will be apparent,by appropriately manipulating the spherical member to displace it in thedesired direction, and to the proper amount, in azimuth, the operatorcan control the movement of the telescope, increasing its speed,decreasing its speed, or bringing it to a stop as desired.

The same kind of action is obtained whenthe spherical member is rotatedin elevation to effect rotation of the friction wheel 28. The 60 rackbar 86, the vertical movement of which swings the telescope inelevation, is in mesh with a gear I99 on a shaft 20I which is connected,through a slip-clutch 400, to the output shaft 200 of a differentialhaving two input gears 202 and 204, and a cage 205. The input gear 204is rotated directly by the friction wheel 28, through shafts 206, 201,208 and gears 2I0, 2I2, 2I4, H6 and 2I8. In order to assure a goodfrictional contact of the friction wheels 26, 28 with the: surface ofthe spherical member I6, the shaft I06 is journaled in a bearing, notshown, pro vided in a fixed portion of the box 24, while the shaft 206is carried by an arm 300 that is pivotally mounted on a fixed shaft 302.The piv- It otal movement of this arm is limited, to the extentpermitted by a slight amount of play between the gears 2I0 and 2I2, bymeans of stop screws 304, 306, and a coil spring 308 is arranged toswing the arm 300 in a direction to hold the wheel 28 in contact withthe surface of the spherical member I6 which is held yieldingly incontact with the friction wheel 26 by the action of the plungers 38, 38.v

The input gear 202 is connected, by means of gears'222, 224, 225 and ashaft 228, to the output cylinder 230 of a variable speed driveincluding a disk 232 and a ball carriage 236, carryin two balls, notshown, but similar to the two balls I34 of the variable speed drivewhich has been described above. This ball carriage is adjustable, todisplace the'two balls relatively to the center of the disk 232, bymeans of a pinion 238 carried by a shaft 240 which is normally connectedto the shaft 267 by means of a friction clutch 222. The disk 232 isdriven at a constant speed by the motor I44 through gears 244, 245, 248and a shaft 250.

The operation of this mechanism to move the telescope in elevation isthe same as-has just been described in connection with the control ofthe movements of the telescope IS in azimuth and, by appropriatelymanipulating the spherical member I6 to displace it in the desireddirection and to the proper extent, in elevation, the operator cancontrol the movements of the telescope, increasing its speed, decreasingits speed, or bringing it to a stop as desired. Compound movements ofthe telescope, to train it simultaneously in azimuth and elevation, areobtained by rotating the spherical member in a direction correspondingto that in which it is desired to have the telescope moved. For example,if the operator wishes to move the telescope upwardly, and to his right,he would grasp the spherical member with both of his hands, as isindicated at h in Fig. 1, and rotate it in the same direction in whichthe telescope is to be moved.

Such movement of the spherical member can be resolved into twocomponents, one parallel to a vertical plane passing through the centerof the spherical member and the friction wheel 28 and another parallelto a horizontal plane passing through the center of the spherical memberand the friction wheel 26. The first of these components will betransmitted to the friction wheel 28 and, in accordance with thedirection and extent thereof, will effect movement of the telescope inelevation as has already been explained. Similarly, the second componentwill be transmitted to the friction wheel 26 and, in accordance with thedirection and extent of this component will effect movement of thetelescope in azimuth. When the extent of displacement of the sphericalmember, necessary to produce a desired movement of the telescope, bothwith respect to the extent of movement as well as the speed of movement,becomes considerable, the operator merely re-engages his hands with adifferent portion of the surface of the spherical member and displacesit as required for the continued control of the movement of thetelescope. Thus, it is not necessary for him to twist his hands orwrists excessively or to assume an awkward position. With his two handsin a natural position and in contact with the spherical member, theoperator can have a very accurate and easy control over the displacementof the spherical member and of the movements of the telescope. As willbe obvious, the operator can readily efiect movement of the telescopethrough 360 in azimuth with no' difiicu1ty,' and even the extreme limitsof movement'of the telescope in elevation impose no strain upon hishands.

It sometimes may be desirable to eliminate the rate control function ofthe control mechanism and to move the telescope solely from thespherical member I6 with a so-called space control. For this purpose,thefriction clutches I42, 242, are provided, respectively, with yokes342, 344 which are adapted to be shifted to release these clutches,thereby disconnecting the shafts I0'II40 and 201-240, and eliminatingthe rate control feature provided by the variable speed drives. Theyokes 342, 344 are provided, respectively, with operating arms 346, 348,arranged to be engaged by a pair of cams 350, 352, carried by a shaft354. A crank arm 350 is secured to this shaft for rotating it to engagethese cams with the yoke arms. In operating the device with this spacecontrol only, the spherical member I6 is first manipulated so as toposition the balls of the two variable speed drives in centered positionwith respect to their disks and then the crank arm is turned in thedirection of the arrow in Fig. 3, thereby disengaging the two frictionclutches I42, 242. Now,

as the two input gears I02 and 202 will be held stationary, thetelescope I0 will follow the movements of the spherical member I6 as aresult of the rotations of the friction wheels 26, 28 which are,respectively, fed into the two input gears I04 and 204 of the twodifferentials.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A control apparatus having, in combination, a device mounted fortraining movements in azimuth and elevation, means for moving saiddevice in azimuth, including a friction wheel mounted for rotation in ahorizontal plane, means for moving said device in elevation, including afriction wheel mounted for rotation in a vertical plane, a sphericalmember, and means for supporting said spherical member for universalrotation with its surface in frictional contact with said frictionwheels.

2. A control apparatus having, in combination, a device mounted fortraining movements in azimuth and elevation, power-operated means formoving said device in azimuth, including a friction wheel rotatable in ahorizontal plane for controlling the speed and direction of movement ofsaid device in azimuth, means for moving said device in elevation,including a friction wheel mounted for rotation in a vertical plane forcon trolling the speed and direction of movement of said device inelevation, a spherical member, and means for supporting said sphericalmember for universal rotation with its surface in frictional contactwith said friction wheels.

3. A control apparatus having, in combination, a device mounted fortraining movement in azimuth and elevation, means for moving said devicein azimuth comprising a differential havin two inputs and an output, apower driven variable speed gear connected to one of said inputs and afriction wheel, rotatable in a horizontal plane, connected to the otherof said inputs, means for moving said device in elevation comprising asecond differential having two inputs and an output, a power drivenvariable speed drive connected to one of said inputs and a frictionwheel, rotatable in a vertical plane, con- 7 nected to the other of Saminputs, a, spherical member, and means for supporting said sphericalmember for universal rotation with, its surface in frictional contactwith said friction wheels.

JCSEPH HARRINGTON, JR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record. in the le oi ths pa ent:

3 UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Abbot July 15, 192% 192, Pierce e. rJuly 26, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date France July 28, 1908 Germany---V--. Nov. .2, 1917

